I wish the Catholic Church (and any others interested) would simply marry people without government involvement. A black co-worker years ago described her pastor asking how many couples were living in sin; when several raised their hands, he called them all to the front and pronounced them married.
Easy enough; they felt “cleansed” and no longer sinful, and their pastor saw no reason to involve Uncle Sam. The legal protections they gave up are today obstacles to many young men marrying anyway...
Unfortunately, that lets the leftist churches have their gay marriage and polygamous marriages and child-adult marriages and marriages to trees and bridges and stuff.